In the days following Hurricane Florence’s landfall on the southeastern U.S. coast, extensive inlandflooding caused by high storm surge and continuous rain required mass evacuations and rescueoperations throughout Virginia, South Carolina and North Carolina. Many areas were unreachable onthe ground due to water and debris, making aerial imagery an extremely valuable tool for emergencyresponders, insurers and the public to better understand and assess the dangerous situation.

As soon as aircraft could be flown safely, the Geospatial Intelligence Center (GIC) mobilized a fleet ofairplanes equipped with highly efficient UltraCam aerial imaging systems and began collecting verticaland oblique aerial imagery of the hurricane-devastated region. Over the next several weeks, images ofapproximately 65 sq. km, roughly an area the size of Ireland, were processed and uploaded into the GICweb map portal, built on Esri’s ArcGIS cloud-based mapping platform. In circumstances like this, high-resolution survey-grade images are available within 24-36 hours of data collection, due to Vexcel’s high-speed processing capabilities, and are accessible to the public and all agencies through a public mapviewer that allows users to search for properties and compare pre- and post-storm views. Firstresponders, federal government agencies, and state/local agencies have the option to submitcredentials to receive access to other portals containing additional information.

The GIC is a National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) initiative in partnership with Vexcel Imaging that isfocused on building an imagery database of vertical imagery for every address in the nation and bothvertical and oblique imagery of top U.S. metro areas. This image library is being built for the benefit ofGIC’s member insurers, as well as FEMA and other emergency responders. “Through the NICB, the GIChas a close relationship with law enforcement and first responders, which means we have priority accessto disaster sites and are there working with authorities before, during and after any major disaster,” saidRyan Bank, founder of the Geospatial Intelligence Center. “Participants in our network of aviationcompanies are on call to respond to any disaster-hit area within two hours and immediately startproviding information that will improve situational awareness and help visualize properties in contextwith their surroundings.”

The “before and after” imagery offered by the GIC is collected with fixed-wing aircraft equipped withlarge format aerial systems capable of gathering high-resolution vertical and oblique imagerysimultaneously over large areas in a short period of time. The portal includes previously flown “blue sky”imagery, useful for making comparisons against post-disaster imagery to assess damage and supportrelief efforts. The viewing and analysis tools on the data portal include searching by address and“sliding” between before and after imagery. To facilitate analysis, algorithms automatically detectdamage while other functions measure the area of roofs and structures.

In a disaster as widespread as Hurricane Florence, access to up-to-date and accurate aerial imageryimproves the safety of the public and emergency responders. The GIC is committed to continuing itsefforts to map the vulnerable areas of the country before and after disasters, and utilizing its advancedimagery collection, processing and distribution technology to provide an extremely valuable service.

About the Geospatial Intelligence Center:

The Geospatial Intelligence Center (GIC) is a consortium-funded initiative within the National InsuranceCrime Bureau (NICB), the nation’s leading not-for-profit organization exclusively dedicated topreventing, detecting and defeating insurance fraud and vehicle theft through data analytics,investigations, training, legislative advocacy and public awareness. The NICB is supported by more than1,100 property and casualty insurance companies and self-insured organizations representing more than79 percent of the nation’s property/casualty insurance. The GIC is tasked with collecting and makingavailable high-resolution aerial imagery of the entire U.S. for use by its member insurers, lawenforcement, first responders and the public. GIC has partnered with Vexcel Imaging, developer of thehighly successful line of UltraCam photogrammetric aerial camera systems and software, and Esri, theglobal market leader in geographic information system (GIS) software, to build a “blue sky” image libraryand to rapidly collect and process current imagery of disaster-hit areas. The imagery is accessible tomultiple organizations and the public through a web-based portal to improve situational awareness andsupport “before and after” comparisons.